Frank Kohlenstein begins his 17th season as head coach of the
Colorado School of Mines men's soccer program in 2014.

A six-time RMAC Coach of the Year (2000-02, 2006, 2009-10),
Kohlenstein ranks as the all-time winningest men's soccer coach at
Mines, compiling an overall record 191-106-31 and winning
percentage of .630 since 1998. He has led the Orediggers to 13 or
more wins five times, 10 consecutive winning seasons and 14
straight appearances in the conference tournament.

Mines finished 11-7-1 and runner-up in the RMAC at 9-5-0 in
2013, reaching No. 6 in the NSCAA rankings before earning an
at-large bid to its fifth NCAA tournament in program history and
fourth in five seasons.

Two-time RMAC and South Central Region Player of the Year and
eventual Major League Soccer draftee Tesho Akindele was named First
Team All-American by the NSCAA and Daktronics for the second season
in a row, while three others were recognized on the all-region
squads.

Akindele became the first Mines men’s soccer player and
highest-ever Division II selection at the MLS SuperDraft in
January, going No. 6 overall to FC Dallas.

The Orediggers advanced to the NCAA tournament for the fourth
time in 2012, capturing the RMAC Tournament for the second time in
three seasons with a 4-3 upset of previously unbeaten and No. 1
Regis. Despite the toughest schedule in Division II, Mines closed
at 14-5-2 (9-3-2 RMAC) and ranked No. 21 in the final NSCAA Top-25
Coaches Poll.

Akindele repeated as a NSCAA and Daktronics All-American; Alex
Nass was chosen Daktronics Honorable Mention All-American and Zach
Page-Belknap was a Capital One First Team Academic All-American.
Manville Strand, the RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year, led Mines to
conference defensive ranks of third in goals against average
(1.07), third in goals allowed (23) and fourth in shutouts (8).

Mines went 11-7-1 overall and 8-5-1 in conference play in 2011,
progessing to the semifinals of the RMAC tournament before
succumbing to eventual national champion, Fort Lewis. CSM defeated
two top-25 foes en route to its 11th winning season in 12 years and
12th consecutive conference tournament berth, and received votes in
the final NSCAA national rankings.

Kohlenstein directed the men to arguably one of the best seasons
in school history in 2010. Dubbed the NSCAA/Mondo Central Region
Coach of the Year for the second straight season, Kohlenstein
guided the Orediggers to the No. 1 ranking for four consecutive
weeks – the first athletics program at Mines to hold the top
spot.

The men broke the single-season wins record, finishing 17-2-2
(12-1-1 RMAC) and No. 9 in the NSCAA top-25; swept the RMAC regular
season and tournament titles and earned the program’s first
NCAA tournament win, a 5-1 first round defeat of No. 11 Regis.
Mines led all of Division II in scoring offense at 3.24 goals per
game.

In 2009, Kohlenstein steered the Orediggers to their second-ever
NCAA postseason appearance, ending the season 15-3-4 (11-2-1 RMAC)
and No. 18 nationally. In addition to ushering in CSM Soccer
Stadium with a 5-1 win over Northwest Nazarene in the season
opener, Kohlenstein moved ahead of predecessor Bob Pearson on the
program’s all-time wins list with his 126th triumph at Upper
Iowa on Sept. 4.

During the 2008 campaign, CSM went 9-8-3 overall and qualified
as the third seed in the conference tournament at 7-4-3. Led by
five All-RMAC selections, including NSCAA Third Team All-American
Jason Decker, the Orediggers made multiple stints in the NSCAA
top-25, ranking as high as 16th in Division II.

Mines finished 2007 at 11-9-2 (7-6-1 RMAC) and advanced to the
RMAC Tournament finals for the second time in three seasons. Three
Orediggers earned All-RMAC recognition, including Craig Thompson,
who was unanimously voted First Team All-RMAC as well as RMAC
Player of the Year and RMAC Academic Player of the Year. Thompson,
Nick Kubala and Ross Davis garnered All-Midwest Region praise as
well.

The Orediggers tallied a 13-7-1 overall record in 2006, taking
third place in the RMAC with a 9-3-0 mark. Mines landed six
all-conference selections and three All-Midwest Region picks.

In 2005, CSM made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division
II Tournament where it advanced to the second round via penalty
kicks against No. 3 Incarnate Word, before ending the season 13-7-4
(6-4-2 RMAC) with a 1-0 setback to No. 1-ranked and eventual
national champion, Fort Lewis.

The Orediggers ended 2004 at 10-4-5 overall and were inside the
top-three in the conference standings for the fifth straight
season, finishing third at 7-3-2.

From 2000 to 2003, the men’s soccer program reached
unprecedented heights under Kohlenstein, boasting a 52-26-6 record
(37-10-2 RMAC) with three RMAC regular season titles (2000,
2002-03) and one RMAC Tournament championship. The Orediggers won
the first regular season crown in 2000 (14-4-4; 9-2-1 RMAC), while
the 2002 squad became the school’s first to sweep the regular
season and tournament championships and just the fourth in RMAC
history to accomplish the feat.

The first head coach of the Colorado School of Mines
women’s soccer program, Kohlenstein quickly turned the
Orediggers into a conference and national power, accumulating an
overall record of 55-36-9, including 32-15-6 in the RMAC during his
five-year tenure (2005-09). The Orediggers made three trips to the
RMAC Tournament (2007-09) and earned two at-large berths to the
NCAA tournament (2008-09) under Kohlenstein.

Led by All-American Kayla Mitchell, Mines ranked seventh in the
final top-25 ballot of 2009, winning the Central Region
Championship and advancing to the Elite Eight – the furthest
any team at CSM had progressed in NCAA tournament play.

Prior to his arrival in Golden, Kohlenstein served as head coach
of the Raleigh Flyers in 1995 and Richmond Kickers in 1997, both of
the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues.

Previously, Kohlenstein spent 10 years as the gaffer at
University of South Carolina-Spartanburg (1979-88), where he began
the soccer program as a club sport in 1979 and eventually led the
Rifles to three consecutive third-place finishes at the NAIA
National Tournament from 1983 to 1985. Recognized as NAIA District
Six Coach of the Year four times, he was named the NAIA Coach of
the Year in 1983 and the NSCAA Coach of the Year in 1983 and
1984.

A 2001 Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Kohlenstein finished
128-45-11 at USCS, coaching 13 different NAIA All-Americans, nine
NSCAA All-Americans, 13 NAIA All-Area and 21 NAIA All-District Six
selections, and two NAIA District Six Players of the Year. He also
oversaw a two-time Academic All-American and three academic
all-district choices.

Kohlenstein became head coach at NCAA Division I University of
North Carolina at Charlotte in July, 1989, a position he held for
six seasons (1989-94). He quickly transformed the 49er program into
a national power, posting a cumulative record of 77-32-12 and
taking UNCC to a No. 2 national ranking in 1992 and back-to-back
NCAA tournament berths in 1991 and 1992.

In 33 years at the helm, Kohlenstein has amassed a career record
of 515-229-61 (.678), including 451-219-63 (.658) at the collegiate
level.

In addition to taking five different teams on five different
levels to the postseason, he has coached 37 All-Americans, 18
Academic All-Americans, one Rhodes Scholar, five National Team
players and 161 all-conference honorees.

Kohlenstein received his undergraduate degree in physical
education from Florida State in 1976 before going on to earn a
master’s degree in exercise physiology from Montana State in
1977.